


Row, Row, Row Your Boat

by wavewright62



Category: A Redtail's Dream (Webcomic)
Genre: Awkward Romance, F/M, Fluff, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-12-27 00:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18292805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wavewright62/pseuds/wavewright62
Summary: It's just a little excursion, right?





	Row, Row, Row Your Boat

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was 'Riikka & Ville - Sweethearts.' Alternate title, "Row, Row, Row Your Ship"

“I can’t wait! This is so exciting,” Ville stood on the dock, clutching a brown paper bag and beaming down at Riikka in her boat.

She looked up quickly, but dropped them again at the expression of pure elation on the young man’s face. It was almost like he was happy to see _her,_ not just the prospect of an excursion. _Shut up, Riikka, you’re imagining things._ “Mind, don’t tip the boat.”

Her admonition was not misplaced. Ville clambered into the dinghy awkwardly, almost capsizing it before dropping onto hands and knees in the middle of the boat to stabilise himself, clutching the paper bag to his chest. “You’d better take this,” he handed up the bag to Riikka. He added, “I brought us date buns and a couple of ham sandwiches and cinnamon buns! Not even any of the burnt ones!”

“Ooo, that’ll do nicely, thank you.” Riikka resisted the urge to immediately open the bag and gloat at the goodies, but Ville urged her to please look at them. The rich smell that greeted her nose made her bite her lip. Ville was grinning at her so eagerly, but she closed the bag quickly. “No, no, let’s save them, okay?”

“Okay, if you want. But we can have some _now_ if you want, too.” He had managed to get himself off the bottom of the boat and was sitting up properly, clasping his hands under his chin. She took the hint, cherishing the delightful smell as she selected a date bun before handing the bag back to Ville. He wasted no time selecting a sandwich, and less time eating it.

Ville was new in town, but he already seemed like he’d been there all his life. He fit right into the life of Hokanniemi, almost more than his roommate Hannu, who truly had been there his whole life. Unlike Hannu, and indeed unlike most of the townsfolk, Ville was wide open, bright-eyed and enthusiastic in a way that could be slightly unnerving.

Yesterday evening he had plopped himself at the table where Riikka was eating with her brother Anssi, and asked if they could go rowing out on the lake in the morning. She agreed, and thought nothing of it as he bounded away happily, leaving his soup behind. Anssi carried on chewing his dinner without saying a word, but had a peculiar set to his head that gave Riikka pause. “What?,” she asked, but he just shrugged and wouldn’t meet her eyes. Anssi had almost looked like he was smiling.

Chewing her date bun, Riikka pushed away from the dock and within a few strokes had them pointed out to the middle of the lake. “You’re such a good rower, can I help?” It was such an outlandish question that Riikka’s jaw stuck halfway through a chew for a moment as she stole a glance at Ville.

He _was_ looking at her, like that, like… he was excited to be with _her._ Nobody had ever looked at her like that. She had to be imagining it. She snuck another look between strokes. He was looking around now, with the same slightly loopy expression. She was somehow reminded of a big happy dog. She had to be mistaken about his interest in her; he was just like that. “Okay, here, you can row.” She handed the oars to Ville.

“Yay, this is so much better than last time!” Before she could query what he meant by that, he grabbed the oars and started rotating them in opposite directions, slapping the water with the broadside of the blade. Riikka cowered against the splashing and yelled for him to stop. “Oh, I guess I haven’t really done this before,” he admitted. “You’re so good at it, can you show me?” He dropped the oars from his hands, forcing Riikka to scramble to catch them before they slipped into the water and out of reach.

“Ville! They,” she replaced the oars, “they – here. Hold them like this.” She placed her hands on the handles and held the oars above the water. “Make sure the blades stay like this, to get the full surface of the blade pulling you through the water.” Ville put his hands over hers on the oar handles. They were large, and warm without being sweaty. Riikka swallowed involuntarily and continued, “Uhhh, and then you uhhh, stroke.” She showed him the pattern, reaching forward, placing the blades in the water together, and then pulling back to draw the oars through the water smoothly. His face kept the same excited expression as he allowed himself to be pushed and pulled along with Riikka’s strokes.

“Let me try!” Riikka wriggled her hands out from under his, slightly reluctantly. Ville paid attention to the blade placement, but pulled so roughly that the boat’s bow heaved out of the water with each stroke.

Riikka brought her hands onto Ville’s again. _”Smoothly,_ Ville!” After a few strokes, they were gliding across the misty water at a great clip. Riikka was impressed at Ville’s vigour, and his happy grin never faded. “Do you want to pull up to the fish plant?,” Riikka waved at the island housing her aunt’s fish processing plant. “We can get a coffee to go with the buns.”

Ville’s brow creased. “She won’t shoot us with her harpoon, will she?” As Riikka stared at him, he shook his head, “I don’t really like coffee, I just like the buns. It’s okay.” A few strokes later, he asked, “Uhhh, how do I stop going toward the island, then?”

Riikka was brought back to the present by the question. She’d been trying to figure out whether Ville had ever actually met her aunt Ása, and why he’d mentioned a harpoon, of all things. Not that her lanky aunt wouldn’t look all that out of place wielding a harpoon, really, up on the high rock outcropping… She showed him how to steer with the strokes, veering away from the wharf with only a few meters to spare.

“Can we go over there?” Ville nodded his head at the straits, where the lake narrowed between banks. The sun was beginning to dissipate the mist, leaving the outlines of the birch trees more distinct and the uppermost branches tinged with gold. As much as Riikka wanted a coffee, she had to agree that it did look pretty.

“Sure, we can do that,” she smiled, “but definitely coffee afterward. Not negotiable.” She considered the path between the inlets. “Here, let me take the oars for this bit.”

“This is so much fun, though,” Ville reluctantly handed over control of the oars. Looking down into the water, he commented, “Lots of places for a really big fish to hide down there.” When Riikka didn’t comment, he continued, “Swimming is a lot more fun than I thought. I always hated getting wet, but it’s actually a lot like flying. And it’s lot warmer when you’re fat.” He placed his hands around his belly. “So it’s good. Are you a good swimmer, too? Do you want to go swimming?”

 _Did he just call me fat?_ Riikka frowned. “I didn’t bring any swim togs, and it’s too cold anyway.” He cocked his head to one side as he considered the water, reminding Riikka of a dog so much that she smiled quietly to herself. _He is, he’s just like a great big puppy. He’s cute._

She chose a mooring spot, with a shelf of rock that came down to the water’s edge like a stair, and a well-rooted young tree she could use for securing the boat. She directed Ville to take the rope and tie it to the tree, as she stowed the oars. “GAH! Careful!” She held onto the gunwales to try to counteract Ville’s bounding scramble, then hastened to rescue the paper bag of goodies off the floor of the boat as water splashed over the side.

At least Ville had the good sense to look abashed. “Oh, sorry! But hey, you saved the treats! Yay!” He tied the rope to the sapling, taking care to make a very proper hitch knotting. He stepped back to allow Riikka to climb onto the rock. “I’m very good with my hands! Do you want to see?”

Riikka looked at his hands held in front of him, thinking _you could have offered me a hand out of the boat, you know._ She grinned to herself as she deliberately misconstrued his question and grabbed his hands to pull herself up. He lurched forward in his surprise, throwing Riikka backward, but recovered quickly and held onto her before she could pitch off the rock into the water.

He surprised her in turn by throwing an arm around her waist and pulling her up alongside him. “You said you didn’t want to swim, right?” He didn’t let her go. Nonplussed, she managed to nod. “Good, let’s eat,” he grinned as he took the bag from her and finally released her.

Riikka found herself shaking slightly as she found herself following him to a sunny spot, where he seated himself and started rummaging in the bag. He handed her a cinnamon bun as she sat beside him. She was just about to hove into it with delight when she reconsidered for propriety’s sake, “Mmm, maybe I should have a sandwich first, and then maybe a bun?”

Ville shook his head enthusiastically, sending his longish brown hair flopping around his face. “No, sweets first, then sandwich! I know you like sweets.” She shrugged; he was correct, no argument there. She took a bite, savouring the fragrance of the cinnamon. He was grinning at her as he chewed, “probably because you’re sweet, too.”

It took some effort to swallow the bite without choking in her shock. “Um, that’s very nice of you to say, Ville.” He wasn’t looking at her; he was rummaging in the bag for another treat. She watched him surreptitiously, as he selected a date bun for himself and began to eat that, the grin never leaving his face. “Ville,” she asked, “why did you ask me to come rowing today?” Her heart hammered against her ribcage at her own temerity in asking such a direct question.

“Because Hannu never wants to, and you have a boat.”

 _Oh._ “Yes,” she nodded.

“And you’re always really nice, and I like you.” He took another bite of date bun and chewed happily.

 _Oh!_ She cradled the rest of her cinnamon bun in her hands for a moment, then took another bite as she considered Ville. He certainly wasn’t like the other young men of the village, with their perpetually dour expressions and hands shoved in their pockets. She found herself blurting out, “Ville, what did you mean earlier when you said you were good with your hands?” She could feel her face flushing as she said it.

His grin got even wider, if that was possible. He held his hands out again, wriggling the stubby fingers. “I practice tying and untying knots at home. I’m getting very good at using my fingers tying knots,” he declared. He pointed at the rope mooring the boat, “Do you see? That’s a very good knot. I can make knots in little ropes too, now, like the string at the shop.”

 _He’s certainly cute, but maaaaybe not the brightest spark in the village,_ she gave him a wry smile.  
  
His eyes lit up as he looked at her. “I can knot your hair!” Her hands flew to her long plaits protectively. “Can you teach me how to make those knots?”

“You mean, the plaits? You don’t know how to make plaits?” He shook his head. “Um, that’s okay, but let me show you with some of this, first.” She plucked three long stalks of weed and arrayed them on her lap. “Watch what I do, now. You take from the outside and put it over the center one, then the outside one from the other side and put it like so, over the new center one.” She demonstrated as she went, showing him how she held the strands in her fingers as he watched with rapt attention. “There’s different ways like going under, or using four or more strands, but this is how you make the basic ones like the ones in my hair.”

“Your hair’s a lot softer than those stalks,” Ville had one of the plaits in his hand, bending it back and forth and brushing the end against his nose.

Riikka gave a start and drew back, “Oi, Ville, personal space!”

“Sorry, I forget,” Ville looked crestfallen, “Hannu always has to remind me, too. Are you okay?”

“Well, yes, Ville, I’m fine, you didn’t hurt me!” He looked relieved. “But I,” she hesitated, “hey, try it on some weeds like I did, okay?” _Oh, my, he looked so cute fluffing my hair on his nose!_

Ville plucked his weeds as asked, and chanted Riikka’s instructions out loud as he attempted to plait them together, with only some success. Riikka picked out a ham sandwich as she watched him, surreptitiously glancing at his profile as he concentrated. _”You’re always really nice, and I like you,” that’s what he said. Friend like, or like like? Is…this a date? Anssi kind of gave him a look when he asked me yesterday, but didn’t say anything._ His plait was getting more wonky as he went. “Do you want some help with that, Ville?,” she asked.

“Yes please!” Ville dropped the strands of weed and threw his hands in the air. Riikka shook the wonky plait apart and laid the three strands down on his lap.

“Now, hold the strands like this,” she displayed her hands, then felt herself blushing as he leaned forward to entwine his own hands alongside her fingers. She didn’t pull away. She coached him through the first few stitches in the plait, then moved her own fingers to the outside to coach him through the next few. His hands were unexpectedly soft as well as warm, and he followed her directions well. They chanted together, “take from the outside, put it over the middle, take from the outside, put it over the middle.”

Then suddenly, he was nuzzling the back of her neck with his nose, murmuring, “You smell really nice.” She didn’t move away, but couldn’t formulate a coherent response either. He shuffled closer and rubbed his cheek lightly on the nape of her neck, nuzzling his nose underneath her plait and behind her ear. “Is this okay, or is this personal space, too?”

Her voice sounded higher than normal in her ears, “ummm, it’s okay! You’re okay!” Her fingers inadvertently tightened against his, where they lay on his lap. “It’s kind of nice, Ville.” _It’s driving me crazy, is what it is. What do I do? What do I do?_

“Yeah.” He brought his nearest arm out from between them and wrapped it around Riikka’s back, drawing her close while he nuzzled the nape of her neck again. Unsure what to do, she gripped both of her hands onto his remaining hand on his lap. He was humming now as he returned to nuzzling behind her earlobe.

She watched mayflies flitting among the reeds at the water’s edge. Fish were rising to feed off insects and nymphs on the surface, and Riikka watched the rings from their surfacing expand and intersect. The gnats were warming up with the sun now as well, but she found herself loath to move to swat them away from her face, lest she break the enchantment of Ville’s warm embrace. He stirred against her, murmuring against her neck, “I wonder how you can _smell_ a monkey fart under the water?”

 _What._ She took her hands away from his as she swiped the gnats away from her face.

“It would be tasting more than smelling. Humans have a lousy sense of smell anyway.”

 _He thinks I smell._ Riikka briskly brushed the crumbs off her lap and stood up. “Let’s go get the coffee now,” she clambered down the rocks toward the boat without looking at Ville. She motioned for him to get into the boat before she set to untying the hitch. _It was a very good knot, indeed,_ she had to admit. She threw the rope into the boat, ‘accidentally’ whapping Ville on the back of the head with it. “Whoops, sorrry,” she grumbled. _Ugh, I sound like Hannu now._

Ville was still smiling as Riikka shoved away from the mooring spot with one of the oars. “Can I row again?,” he asked.

She shrugged and handed him the oars. “Go around to the wharf on the side toward the village.” She stared into the water as Ville found the rhythm of the oars again. The sun was warming the side of her face and neck, and she couldn’t help but remember how warm it felt to have Ville nuzzling her. _Dammit._

They rowed to the island in silence. Ville eagerly clambered up the ladder to tie the boat to the hitch, smiling as he admired his handiwork. He looked so pleased with himself as he displayed his knot to her that Riikka couldn’t help giving a wry smile in return. “That is a very good knot, Ville.”

He let her buy herself a coffee from the kiosk, but didn’t want one himself. “Here, you can have the last bun to go with it,” he handed her the grease-stained bag.

There was one bun still inside, somewhat the worse for wear with bits of ham stuck to it and most of its icing scraped onto the side of the bag. _Still good, though._ “We can split it, if you want,” she offered.

“Okay!” He took the bag back and plopped himself onto a bench looking back across the water to Hokanniemi. Riikka joined him on the bench, taking care to not sit too close to him, but he skooshed closer to her to hand her a piece of the bun. “Here you go,” he trilled, before applying himself to running his finger along the inside of the bag to scrape the icing off.

Riikka tried to ignore the sidelong looks her aunt’s workers sitting on adjacent benches gave the two of them. She licked her fingers, enjoying the last vestiges of sugar from the bun, then sipped at her coffee. Ville was _still_ smiling. _He has no idea. No clue whatsoever,_ she sighed. _I swear he looks like a big dog. He should have his tongue hanging out._ She found herself smiling along with him. They sat in companiable silence in the sun, while Riikka savoured her coffee.

Ville turned bright eyes to her. “Riikka, are we sweethearts now?”

 _Are we what now? _He looked so sincere. He looked so _happy.___ “Even though I smell?,” she teased.

“Oh, you smell _really nice,_ ” he skooshed closer and leaned forward as though to nuzzle her again.

Mindful of the audience on the other benches, she put a hand up to forestall him. He nuzzled the hand instead. Melting, she said, ”Oh, Ville, I don’t know, are we?”

He put his arm around her and nuzzled into her neck again. “Yeah.”

Riikka relaxed and accepted the embrace. Over Ville’s head, she caught the eye of two workers on the bench staring pointedly at the two of them. She wrinkled her nose at them and kissed the top of Ville’s head. _Yeah._


End file.
